Thanks! It was definitely an amazing time/experience and the riding out there is something else!!

Jordan, I can give you a better break down if that would help of where the money went but right now its roughly:Flight to UK : $1200 (we waited pretty long on this but you can get flight for ~$850) Total expenses: $1000

The nice part when flying back was they over booked our flight and gave us $800 cash offsetting the cost of the trip quite a bit. You could definitely do it cheaper too as we got a couple hotel rooms along the journey.

Ya, you were super lucky to be bumped and compensated! Regardless, 1K is very good. Did you borrow the RV or rent that? (Sorry if I missed it.) The RV seems to be a key element. Or, touring rigs with a tent maybe.

I think I can do that! I need to check my racing schedule, but I'm a tentative in.

I did a crit yesterday, and it sucked! I started in my little ring, and was off the back by the time I got into my big ring. DERRRRRRRP. Good workout and cornering practice, though. Then I ate pizza and drank beer and stood around with Josh and some other friends watching the fast ladies and dudes race. Watching the woman who rode away from the senior women's pack on the second or third lap to stay away and win was something else.

_________________If you spit on my food I will blow your forking head off, you filthy shitdog. - MumblesDon't you know that vegan meat is the gateway drug to chicken addiction? Because GMO and trans-fats. - kaerlighed

Ya, you were super lucky to be bumped and compensated! Regardless, 1K is very good. Did you borrow the RV or rent that? (Sorry if I missed it.) The RV seems to be a key element. Or, touring rigs with a tent maybe.

I love that you did this!

yeah absolutely! We rented the RV which was $320/person for 10 days (there were 4 of us). We were going to do a car and camp everywhere when only 3 of us were planning on going.

The marathons seem awesome. Truthfully I might not have bought them if I didn't get a pretty big discount. Took the new wheel for a nice long spin around the foothills yesterday. They rdoe great. I remain pleased with myself.

Nice! What width did you go with? I just picked some up for my commuter which sees slews of glass/debris from the city and loving them. Only have 850miles on them but no flats thus far. Was very disappointed in the set of Ribmos i ran right before these and had multiple issues with the sidewalls of Gatorskins. Hoping the marathons are my new go-to commuting/touring tire.

dudes, I rode track for the first time tonight. I think I had the most fun I've ever had on a bike..I was literally smiling coming out of the turns at one point.

the 43° banking was pretty intimidating at first (and some dude actually did come off his bike because he wasn't going fast enough..clipped my back wheel, enough to knock my foot out of my pedal!), but holy shiitake when you're at pace that was stupid fun. can't wait to go back!

I went with 25s. My initial plan had been something fatter, but I'll be honest, i was impaitent to try the new wheels and that's what we had in stock at work. So far, they ride great. I even tried them on a gravel road. The flat protection seem pretty intense.

I truly hated gatorskins (also sidewall issues). We've had a lot of good luck overall with Conti in our house (grand prix 4000, touring plus, contacts) But my partner's most recent set of grand prix have been shiitake. what the fizzle, Conti?

Havnt been racing much lately but im heading over for le Tour in a week!

This explains your ride from Heathrow then hahah! Enjoy it!

Yeah, the UK was amazing! only spent a bit of time there but even though i was thoroughly jet-lagged/hung over the 70mile ride was amazing! Im hoping to have a run down of the trip soon but I did make it to Brighton on the way back over from the Ferry to eat at VBites. Not sure how often you make it that far south but it seemed like a fun beach town.

Just read your whole trip report, seriously amazing. Got me planning a trip to Annecy next summer. Brighton is great, I just got back from there! Went out on a MTB for the first time on the South Downs :D

I also did my first century on Sunday! As part of a massive cycling weekend in London with some other pro races and crits. Quite a flat course taking in a couple of the iconic climbs in Surrey. 6hrs15 total time which I'm really pleased with. What next!?

dudes, I rode track for the first time tonight. I think I had the most fun I've ever had on a bike..I was literally smiling coming out of the turns at one point.

Sweet! glad you had a good time and didnt get crashed out! track racing is always on my my to-do list but never get around to it.

Olives wrote:

I went with 25s. My initial plan had been something fatter, but I'll be honest, i was impaitent to try the new wheels and that's what we had in stock at work. So far, they ride great. I even tried them on a gravel road. The flat protection seem pretty intense.

I truly hated gatorskins (also sidewall issues). We've had a lot of good luck overall with Conti in our house (grand prix 4000, touring plus, contacts) But my partner's most recent set of grand prix have been shiitake. what the fizzle, Conti?

Nice, I ended up with 28s for the same reason... too impatient. really like them on the road and gravel. Interesting, i actually just went through 2 Conti GP4000s that both had sidewall issues!

Katie wrote:

Just read your whole trip report, seriously amazing. Got me planning a trip to Annecy next summer. Brighton is great, I just got back from there! Went out on a MTB for the first time on the South Downs :D

I also did my first century on Sunday! As part of a massive cycling weekend in London with some other pro races and crits. Quite a flat course taking in a couple of the iconic climbs in Surrey. 6hrs15 total time which I'm really pleased with. What next!?

Thanks! Awesome, Annecy seemed amazing!! Are you going to bring your bike for the climbing around there? Whats the South Downs?

very nice. the first 100miler is a big one. once you get that done the possibilities are endless, ie a double :D

dudes, I rode track for the first time tonight. I think I had the most fun I've ever had on a bike..I was literally smiling coming out of the turns at one point.

Sweet! glad you had a good time and didnt get crashed out! track racing is always on my my to-do list but never get around to it.

came close, actually. the banking is stupid steep, so you need to hold ~15mph to maintain traction. a dude above me hesitated and fell off the wall, hit my back wheel, knocked a shoe out of my pedal, but I held it okay. whew.

I got a touring bike! My boyfriend and I have been talking about bike touring for a long time, but we couldn't find a bike that fit me properly and appealed to my sense of bicycle aesthetics so we kept putting it off and hoping we'd find something perfect. Were on the cusp of buying an older mountain bike frame and turning it into a touring bike when we found this thing, which feels/rides great and is in fantastic shape for a bike from the 1980s. I've always kind of wanted an older miyata, too. Front wheel is smaller so they can cut the rest of the frame down to fit short people. Now to get myself in touring shape and the bicycle in riding shape so we can do some weekend trips.

I had the pleasure of someone prying my roofrack off our car few weeks back, so im looking on going the hitch route before cross season (aka asap). Any suggestions on a solid 1 ¼” 4-bike rack?

My old team was sponsored by Kuat racks, and they were pretty much the tits as far as hitch racks go.

_________________If you spit on my food I will blow your forking head off, you filthy shitdog. - MumblesDon't you know that vegan meat is the gateway drug to chicken addiction? Because GMO and trans-fats. - kaerlighed

I had the pleasure of someone prying my roofrack off our car few weeks back, so im looking on going the hitch route before cross season (aka asap). Any suggestions on a solid 1 ¼” 4-bike rack?

My old team was sponsored by Kuat racks, and they were pretty much the tits as far as hitch racks go.

Those things are really legit! Helped my buddy put one on a month or so back. Might be a bit out of my price range right now unless i found one used as i just picked up another CX rig and 2 sets of tubs for this season...